


Ruby's Training

by Xadhoom



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: F/M, For Want of a Nail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13714668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xadhoom/pseuds/Xadhoom
Summary: A fairly unremarkable AU/AT fic about if Ruby had said yes to Courtney's offer. Removed from the Story Collection so it doesn't get lost in the deluge of shippings.





	1. Chapter 1

A million questions was running through Ruby's head. They all came to an end, by the same one conclusion: Why make any sacrifice or get into a fight, when he had an alternative?

"Actually, you know what?" he announced, affecting an indifferent posture. "I think I'll accept your offer."

Courtney scrutinized him, smirk dimming, yet-not-vanishing. "That's good to hear, but I'll like some proof that you're on the level. Recall your team, then I'll recall Ninetales in turn, and we will leave this cave with Swellow."

Ruby swallowed nervously, half-forcing his grin despite the presence of the Fire-type. Getting up, he moved to recall the Pokemon - Mumu first, then the others - into their balls. He looked, uncertainly, to Courtney.

The cultist gave the boy a mild smile, silently calling the mythical fox back as well. "Shall we?"

But a moment later, the two humans were flying off on the bird, towards the Rustboro end of the tunnel. The news reporters and company in their car arrived just in the nick of time to see Ruby get taken away, the back of his shirt firmly in her gloved grip, by her.

The chase through the tunnel was a brief-lived one, for almost as soon as the airborne pair had left the cave, the Swellow made a right turn.

The boy glanced uneasily across the landscape - partly forest, partly mountain-land - that unfolded before him. He supposed that it was a pretty sight, but he'd prefer to not see this from this high-up.

Ew, thought the boy who had just gotten a fly on his cheek.

Their flight soon drew to a close, and they descended into the forest. Courtney simply put him down on his feet, and he gained steady footing while she jumped down next to him.

Courtney absently gazed in the distance, pensively.  _"Fallarbor and the Meteor Falls are north of here, so we should be able to make an unnoticed path to the desert from there, or hide from the police if necessary."_

Inwardly, Ruby wondered if he had made a smart call. How could he win the contests or come home again if he was a part of their gang?  _"Still, not like we can put up a fight against her now."_

The ringing of her PokeGear interrupted both their musings. With a quick motion, she grabbed the phone off its holder on her stocking. The caller quickly revealed himself as Blaise to her, and their conversation centered about the Red Orb, which he alone would have to find.

Uncertain of what the 'Red Orb' was, Ruby listened attentively, especially when the man on the other end mentioned his name. "As a matter of fact," added the nineteen-year-old, "I've managed to get the kid on our side. I was considering handling his training myself."

All the response that got was a brief chuckle from the man on the other side. "Well, good luck with that. I'll take over the Orb hunting job, so don't worry your noggin with that."

Then, he hung up. For a moment, a pensive smile-slash-frown adorned Courtney's face, before she made another call. Ruby tilted his head, wondering who she was calling.

"Hey, boss," spoke the woman. "I've got an update. Ruby, the Gym Leader's kid, has agreed to join us, so I'll have to spend some time getting him into proper shape. Blaise has taken over the Red Orb search."

On the receiving end of the PokeGear, there was a momentary silence before Maxie responded. "That's perfectly fine as long as it proves of some benefit to the organization," announced the leader of Team Magma, "but, depending on how my meeting with Archie goes, you might only have as little as a day for a training session."

Courtney frowned at that. Ruby felt a pang of relief. "That's going to be a problem, but I think we can work around it," replied Courtney, eventually. "Can you have a grunt bring the Fennekin over?"

"The Fennekin?" the man on the other end sounded puzzled to Ruby's ears. A pause ensued. "Sure, I'll arrange for it. Where to?"

"By the Fallarbor coast," replied the young woman.

It took about half an hour of walking before the Magma pair arrived at Hoenn's west-coast - and while Ruby thought it was rather a pleasant, scenic forest to visit, there were places he'll rather be - and just as long of waiting before the mundanely-dressed Team Magma agent arrived with the Pokemon and its ball.

The boy studied the contents of the ball in his hand, curiously inspecting the tiny fox visible through the red glass. From a bit to his left, Courtney observed the duo while mentally plotting their training schedule. She watched him inattentively as he took the Pokedex out of his bag.

To his surprise, it didn't have any information on it.  _"Not again..."_ Well, he  _did_ know a couple of things about it, even without the Pokedex - it was called a Fennekin and was a fire-type, and that was good for a start.

"I hope you're ready," called the Team Magma Admin, "because your training starts here and now."

Ruby gawked momentarily, then his face became set in a coy grin. "Look," he raised his empty hand, intending a placative gesture, "dunno how to really put this, but I'm not a fighter. I live for contests, not battle."

She rolled her eyes. "And just what makes you think they're mutually exclusive?"

Ruby glanced down. He couldn't tell her that. "Dunno," he shrugged.

Judging by that look on his face, she concluded that there was something to it.  _"Expert liar, he's not, but that's mendable too."_ "Regardless, what say we get started?"

He released a heavy sigh; by the looks of it, she wouldn't take no for an answer. _"And why should she?"_ whispered a traitorous voice in his head.  _"After all, you signed on."_

It was with a somewhat hesitant hand that Ruby sent out the Fennekin. Silently, she released her Swellow from his ball.

"Let's begin with an easy exercise," announced Courtney, and pointed out towards the nearby sea. Ruby took a curious look out at the ocean. "We're gonna be shooting fire out across the sea, as a bonding activity for you two. After that, we can handle the more tricky stuff."

Ruby swallowed uneasily, taking a moment to think and compose himself. Then, he turned towards the bright blue sea. "Okay... Fennekin, use the Ember attack," he instructed the little fox. The fox simply stared innocently at him, her tail wagging quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

For about half an hour, they had been conducting Courtney's improvised practice technique, without no interruption from the outside world. Getting Fennekin to listen had been easier than Ruby initially expected.

"Okay," voiced Courtney, all of a sudden, to the other three, "I think that's enough for a start."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. A momentary silence descended over the area. Fennekin looked, curious and eager, up at the nine-tailed fox, who returned a stern stare at the younger fox.

Courtney was the first to speak again. "So, did you learn anything yet?" she hoped he had picked up on  _something_  - with as little time as they had, every moment was worth a diamond mountain.

Ruby's face scrunched over with confusion. "What am I supposed to have learned from just telling Fennekin to shoot fire?"

 _"Guess I gotta tell him outright,"_  she didn't really mind. As her teacher had told her, the lesson stuck better if the student worked it out on their own.

"Basically, one of the more crucial things to know about Pokemon," she disclosed. "They don't abide to conventional logic and physics. They follow their own rules instead."

Ruby looked blankly at her.

She smiled indulgently. "You know how some Pokemon attacks can inflict status conditions, that paralysis lowers speed and mobility while burns cuts down on their attack power? How do you suppose that works, scientifically?"

Ruby released an "oh," at that.

"It doesn't," so he inferred she meant. How well it fit with what Dad had taught him, he was unsure.

With that, she leaned back into the tree that stood behind her. Her head turned to pensively gaze out over the ocean. Ninetales listened intently to their surroundings, eyes shut.

Sighing, Ruby sat down. Fennekin looked pleadingly up into her trainer's eyes, her desire made plain by the mild forward incline of her head. Sighing again and more good-naturedly, Ruby began to pet its head, quickly eliciting a contented purr from the vulpine fire-type.

Courtney smiled softly at the sight.  _"Well, they're learning to get along. That's its own form of progress."_

A moment of no activity passed, then another one just like it, before Ruby looked up at her.

"What's next?" as little as he enjoyed battling and training, he would do about anything to get this over with.

She began mulling it over. "I suppose going for your next lesson would be good," was her eventual answer. Her only question was, what to make it. "How much do you know about where Pokemon attacks and techniques come from?" she voiced after a moment, looking his way.

There was a brief pause, before Ruby just shrugged it off. "Never really wanted to know."

From her waist-strap, Courtney took the Swellow's ball, and released the bird onto the grass.

"We invent them," she related, voice half-way stern. "Sometimes the trainer gets the idea for them, and sometimes the Pokemon themselves develop the skills. Swellow, demonstrate your Blazing Wings out over the sea!"

The bird flapped its wings and took off. Ruby watched its flight path - first a distance forward, then a straight upward turn, before the bird made that into a loop. Without warning, flames sprouted from its wings. A heated gust and a few dying embers swept over Ruby when it flew past them overhead.

Swellow stopped, right before the cliff, and flapped its wings. Flames and sparks flew off the bird, almost dying out before reaching the water. Landing, it turned around and began to strut over to Courtney, who gave its head a stroke.

Ruby looked, a fair bit amazed, at the bird.

She leaned back into the tree, face contemplative. After a brief while, a grimace appeared there as well, born of her realization of how the situation would likely look from the outside.  _"Nice going, Courtney. A grown woman going off with a kid she's kidnapped sure doesn't set off any warning bells. What's your next trick, Stockholm Syndrome?"_

Then, she looked at Ruby, unease in her eyes.

"Hey, kid?" asked the Team Magma member, tone mostly casual. The preteen's attention went from the Swellow to the human. "If you really don't want to hang out around here, I'll let you go, no tricks."

Uncertainty brewed in Ruby's eyes. He couldn't tell if that was a trick, or if she meant that.

"Okay, thanks, but..." he paused for a moment, considering what to say next. "Why've you changed your mind?"

After a moment, she shrugged. "Let's just say that I don't feel right forcing you into Team Magma. So, no pressure, no duress, just make a call, Ruby."

The uncertainty in his eyes lingered.

He'd like nothing more than to back out of their gang, before his parents found out, and go back to winning the contests. Training with Courtney and Fennekin was just a distraction.

A thought occurred to him.

"How about a compromise?" voiced Ruby. Courtney tilted her head a tad. "I've got a few things to do around Hoenn, so if you and Swellow can give us a few rides, I'll think about it."

She gave him an amused smile. "I'm sure you will, and I agree to your suggestion, Ruby. On a different note, I've got a quick question for you: Why do you think I picked this place for our training session?"

Ruby wouldn't even pretend that he knew. The boy shrugged his shoulders. Courtney reached up, to pick one of the fruits off.

Then, she tossed it to Ruby, who didn't bother to try catching it. The Sitrus Berry landed in his lap. Fennekin studied it curiously, sniffing a bit to it, before a look of clear appreciation formed in the vulpine's eyes.

"I picked here because the berry trees here have plenty of Sitrus, Leppa and Lum berries," exposited the nineteen-year-old. "they're excellent natural remedies for Pokemon. You should have enough from around here to get your team back to full strength, then we can have a quick battle. After that, we can go to Fallarbor and you can do your contests. How's that?"

Ruby responded with a nod.


	3. Chapter 3

The walk, and the silence between them all the while, had given Ruby room to think. From those musings, a frown took shape on his face.

"Hey, kid," he eventually heard Courtney say, snapping him back to reality, with the same tone of voice that he couldn't define other than as indifferent. "Care to swap stories?"

He looked quizzically at her, meeting her gaze.

"If we're gonna be working together," elaborated Courtney, "we might as well know what makes the other tick, plus I'm kinda curious why you've got a thing against Pokemon battles."

Ruby inhaled tersely. A grave sigh escaped him. Eventually, he answered. "I've got two questions I'll like to ask you first."

"Go ahead," replied Courtney.

"Back when we were in the tunnel," voiced Ruby, "you said that fire was beautiful. Why do you think that? How can you think that?"

She smiled almost gently. "Simply put, Ruby, we humans are selfish creatures. We call rain bad weather, despite the fact that it's good for the plants around us. Same deal with fire. It's a natural wonder," her voice grew fond, "that consumes everything in its path, Ruby, and dances with joy and savagery at the same time. We're only afraid of fire when we can't control it. That sum things up for you?"

It did - Courtney was a pyromaniac, and a poet of one - but it didn't really change anything.

"Did you do Pokemon Contests once?" continued the boy.

The good humor on her face dimmed. "You noticed?"

"Now that I've had some time to think things over," Ruby informed her, "it wasn't hard to figure out that it was your ribbon you burned. You didn't have any chance to take one of mine."

Her smirk grew back. "Clever, that," there was a short silence. "Feeling inclined to share?"

Ruby looked away. Courtney supposed that that said everything.

"I've got a third question, though," continued Ruby, a half-forced grin on his face. "How did you learn all this stuff about Pokemon anyway?"

A light sigh escaped her. "Kinda a long story, but..." she paused, memories of Daisy playing in her mind. Her eyes slid closed. "I just have a lot of practice from back home."

Uncertainty showed on his face and Ruby decided that he didn't need or want to know anything more.

* * *

By the left wall, Courtney stood leaned back, a foot against the wall. She observed the look on his face as he came into her view, inferring that things had gone well. "How great did it go?"

"All five," he answered with a grin, "but what else is there to expect from my team? We are, after all, top-notch."

Courtney allowed a smirk, a short-lived one. Glancing past him, she began walking. For a moment, Ruby simply watched her, then he decided to follow.

Once they were a short distance outside town, she released Swellow. Their positions for the flight were soon sorted, and they were off.

A lone biker on the cycling road was treated to the sight of a chick in a weird costume flying with a Swellow while carrying a kid. They were holding onto the other, locked at the wrists. He tired of the sight quickly, and figured it wasn't any of his business anyway.

* * *

"Ruby?" said Sapphire, uncertainly. At the other end of the trail, Ruby was reaching down to pick Fennekin up. "Whatta you doin' here? And witta Magma?"

Ruby looked uncertainly at her, the tiny fox glaring and frowning at the strangers.

"I'd like to know that too," intoned Flannery, eyeing the Magma Admin. Courtney returned a smirk,

Ninetales watching the Torkoal for any sign of trouble.

"Short story even shorter," voiced Courtney, "Ruby's here because I've taken up the task of training the kid. I'm here, because I'm on your side."

Flannery scrutinized the Team Magma operative, unsure if that was true. "Prove that, then," for all she knew, the woman was here to get the honor of killing them herself.

Courtney pointed her thumb to her left, where three humans were encircled by flames and glowering at her. "Isn't that proof enough? If you want, I'll let those hooligans go on their merry way."

"Oh, you can just rot in hell, bitch," called one of the guys. "The world's gonna end anyway, so how about you let us have our fun? Okay?"

Flannery looked glumly at him. He's not wrong. This whole mess isn't their fault, and we've all failed to keep them safe. Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with a rioter...

"Anyway," Ruby piped out, "Courtney and I have been training for a few days in a cave out on Route 120, so I'm not really sure what's going on. Who are they?"

"They're rioters," answered Flannery, uneasily. "Maybe you two missed it, but Hoenn went crazy when Groudon and Kyogre went on a rampage, and not everybody's handled this well. I'm not speaking metaphorically here. All of Hoenn got plunged into environmental chaos. Droughts, floods, tidal waves, you name it. Dewford's barely habitable anymore. The Gym Leaders have had to work around the clock to keep things together."

Ruby figured it would be rude to complain about the mud that could get on his shoes.

"Where are they now?" Courtney's tone was clipped, and the angry demands of the trio went ignored. "Tell me," she added, after Flannery hesitated for a moment.

"Since yesterday, they've been holed up at Sootopolis, where we're trying ta contain them," Sapphire disclosed. "Thanks to us," she straightened up and smiled, proud as punch, "we've been able to get three legend Pokemon on our side, and that's been a great help in containing Kyogre and Groudon there."

Flannery swallowed nervously. "What she said. Only problem is, we've had to give up on saving Sootopolis, because they've been fighting non-stop. As far as we know, most of the citizens are dead, and that's the optimistic guess."

"Dead," parroted Ruby, glumly. Fennekin glanced up at him, wondering what his deal was.

"That sucks," Courtney said eventually. "Disregarding that, what's the Association's plan for stopping them, and how can we help with it?"

Even if Flannery knew, there was no chance in Hell that she'd spill the beans.

Courtney flashed a grin. "Not in a talkative mood about that, I see."

"Anyway," said Sapphire with a grin, looking at Ruby, "you've started trainin'? Who's your new friend?"

"Uh, yeah," Ruby said. The look on her face said everything - she had won, and she was never gonna let him get over it. "Apparently, they're called Fennekin," he informed her as she fished out the Pokedex.

It annoyed Sapphire that it didn't recognize this creature.

* * *

Thomas dimly heard the flapping of wings, and looked left. There, up in the air, above the waters, he saw a winged figure, what he was initially thinking was an angel.

An angel with black wings and horns. That's... not an angel, Thomas, but one of these days...

Courtney inspected the man with mild disinterest, noting his drenched clothes. "Hey. Are you lost?"

"I suppose," said the man, giving a dull smile. "I was in Slateport before the flood hit. Now, I don't know," he laughed a bit. "Have you come to take me the last bit of the way to Hell?"

Courtney looked momentarily quizzical. "No, I'm just looking for missing people."

"Oh," the man's smile turned almost more lifeless. "That's nice of you, but you don't need to waste your time on me, then. This whole disaster has gotten me thinking, why bother returning to civilization? One flood, just one, and everything goes awry. My day-job certainly didn't do me any good, and neither did all my stuff, or the friendships I've made."

"Oh, I know," answered Courtney, enthusiasm rising up in her voice. "Society is so, so, fragile and small. When you're a pyromaniac like yours truly, you're a menace to society. It makes nice clothes, though, just look at me."

Thomas shrugged. Courtney silently directed for Swellow to fly off.


	4. Chapter 4

By the front door of a house in Littleroot, there was a woman, dressed in green cargo-jeans and the sleeveless tunic that Team Magma had given her. Courtney almost couldn't believe that she was still alive. Still, going without sleep for almost a week while fighting demi-gods would probably be more pleasant than this conversation.

Despite her arm feeling rather disinclined to cooperate, she rang the doorbell. The door soon opened, by a woman garbed in a tank-top-and-skirt ensemble, who scowled when she saw Courtney.

"Come inside," it wasn't a request, and her tone was a few degrees colder than frosty. Courtney decided not to make this a fight, and stepped into the house, quickly making her way into the living room where she took a seat on the couch. Norman studied her as she entered.

Jane slammed the door behind her, leaning back.

"We'll make this very quick and very simple," spoke Norman, lowly, to Courtney. "What are your intentions towards our son?"

Their reactions were understandable. "Nothing inappropriate, I assure you."

"So says the woman who kidnapped and forced our preteen son into a criminal cult to be her partner in crime," countered Norman.

"Right," droned Courtney. "The 'woman as corrupter figure' story, classic, and not how things went. I did what I could to leave the option of safely turning me down on the table for him. I never wanted to force him into anything. Seriously," she stressed the word, "I'm not some crazy stalker."

Norman wondered if she had studied literature in high school. Jane inhaled, deciding it was time to tackle the elephant in the living room. "Are you in love with Ruby?"

Courtney tensed, looking at the woman with uncertainty. "I would never dream of doing anything with him until he was a legal adult," she said eventually, somewhat cautiously, "regardless of whether I am or not."

A mixed mood of relief and wanting to strangle her came over both husband and wife.

"So, yes," noted Jane.

"I didn't say that," returned Courtney.

"You evaded the question," said Norman, voice sharp. "That's typically as good as confirming it," he wished to high Heaven that there was some manual for how to proceed. He could appreciate her cooperation, yet fully intended to ensure that she wouldn't have the chance.

What were they supposed to do, Jane wondered. Their family was already handling one rough patch. What if people found out that a woman who was eighteen at the least was attracted to their son? What would the press say, what could social services do? She wished that he would begin to date Sapphire, or anyone else his own age.

"If that's how you choose to treat me," answered Courtney, "then suit yourself. I really don't care."

Jane glared. Norman decided that a change of topic was best.

"Let's change the subject," said the Gym Leader, affecting his best diplomat's tone. "I've been informed that you've begun training Ruby," the open curiosity in his voice made the rest of his statement evident to them. He could imagine one particular reason why Ruby had agreed - two reasons, the cruder part of his brain interjected, flatly - and he prayed without words that it wasn't why he suspected.

"You've heard right," disclosed Courtney. "The tricky part was getting him somewhere nobody could see it. Dunno why, but the kid was embarrassed about his talent."

That was no surprise to Jane or to Norman.

She had known it of her son for years, since that Salamence attacked and Norman left. 'Embarrassed' was not strong enough a word for it.

He knew that very well, felt a sigh rising up in his throat. His son had been ashamed of himself for it. He liked to think that Ruby embracing his talent like he had with contests - to the fullest, for the fun of it - would help his son move past everything that he and that damned Salamence had done.

Norman sighed, face slightly paler than a moment ago to Jane's eyes. "I'm not going to oppose his decision if that's something he wants to continue, but I am going to be joining any training sessions or matches you two have, to make sure that nothing inappropriate happens."

Courtney responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "Whatever you say," a coy smirk flashed onto her lips. "So, are we done here?"

"No," Jane's voice was the sort of glacial that a Walrein or Froslass would find a bit uncomfortable, and her glare so intense that Courtney could almost physically feel it.

"Look, Miss," Courtney corrected her and went ignored, "I'm not a trainer, not any kind of a badass like my husband and Wattson, but I'm warning you. If you do anything," she accentuated the word, voice turning contralto, "to Ruby, I am going to make you pay for it. I am going to rip you apart, until all that will be left of you are a handful of scattered atoms in worse pain than anything that the devil himself could do to you. Do I make myself clear?"

To Jane's irritation, the smirk on Courtney's face didn't budge. "Crystal. If we're done for now, I think I'm gonna leave, let the air clear out here for a bit," she stood up and made to leave in something of a hurry.


End file.
